Large group of teens cause fracas in Troy; arrests reported

By Ian Benjamin

Sunday, March 31, 2013

TROY -- On the eve of Easter Sunday, a large and disorderly group of teenagers caused mayhem in the Lansingburgh section of the city following a "Sweet Sixteen" party at Germania Hall. There have been reports of a fight, the use of a crowbar by a community member, and a vandalized vehicle, prompting the city police to request the assistance of the state police and Rensselaer County Sheriff's deputies.

The party for the celebration of an unknown teenager's sixteenth birthday was let out of Germania Hall, a banquet facility at 309 Third Ave, around 9 p.m. at which time a large fight broke out in front of building, spilling into the street, according to the police scanner. The fight and its aftermath were recounted in the Facebook Page for the North Lansingburgh Community Watch.

The fight, which took place primarily outside the building and in a nearby Pizza Hut parking lot, was broken up after police arrived, having been contacted by Germania Hall members. There were approximately 100 to 150 people either involved or in the vicinity of the fighting, which began to break up around 9:30 p.m. according to a Facebook post by Christina Kasianczuk, who lives near the hall.

The crowd began progressing in groups south along Fifth Avenue by foot with officers monitoring from police vehicles. As they marched, many of the teens were yelling and some were allegedly jeering at the officers who were escorting them.

The noise brought many community members to their windows, where they saw a loud stream of humanity pass by.

At one point, Rebecca Weiss was getting into her car, parked in the driveway of her Fifth Avenue residence, to visit her grandmother at a local hospital, according to her husband Rusty Weiss. The teenagers blocked her from getting out, a situation exacerbated when another car pulled up behind hers, fully blocking her exit. An unknown individual then exited the car with a crowbar and allegedly began swinging at the teenagers as they were passing by.

As largest groups began reaching the intersection of Glen Avenue near where Fifth Avenue turns into Sixth, there were at least 18 marked police vehicles, according to Tina Urzan, proprietor of the Olde Judge Mansion at the northeastern corner of Glen and Sixth avenues.

"They came down Sixth Avenue in mass, on both sides of the street and in the street, and there was one cop car after another," said Urzan. According to the proprietor, the authorities were blocking the side streets as the crowd progressed, funneling them down Sixth Avenue.

The crowds pooled at the Stewart's Shop diagonal from the Olde Judge Mansion, according to Urzan, who could see them from her bed and breakfast.

"They were young -- 13, 14, 15, 16," said Urzan. Shortly before 10:40 p.m., Urzan witnessed some of the teenagers begin picking up rocks. It is unclear whether those rocks were hurled at police vehicles.

Some groups eventually made it as far south as the intersection of Hoosick Street and Sixth Avenue. At around 11 p.m., most of the teenagers had dispersed, but many were still congregated under the Hoosick Street bridge. Authorities escorted half the group, around 20 people onto the Albany-bound CDTA route 22 bus; the other half of the group, around 30 people, were escorted south on Third Street by the officers.

It is not the first time Troy has seen unruly groups of teenagers on the streets.

"This is the third time this has happened since January or February," explained James Gordon, a Lansingburgh community leader. Gordon noted that menacing and bellicose crowds of teenagers have tended to congregate after local sporting events. "This is a growing problem."

The police public information officer for the Troy Police stated that the department will not be responding to media requests for information until Monday.

When contacted, the state police deferred information requests to the city police. The Rensselaer County Sheriff's Office could not be reached.

Local broadcast media outlets are reporting one juvenile and three people 16 or older were arrested in relation to the fracas.